Panacea

Writers: Aaron, Sia
Date Posted: 10th May 2026

Characters: E'tariax, Vianne
Description: Vianne visits with E’tariax about the way she reacted to I’thralos’s Stands Impression
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 27 of Turn 12

E'tariax

Telling I’thralos had been even more difficult than she had imagined. That flaming ashen dragon had dared to pretend he had anything to be upset about when he was the ultimate cause of everything.

Nobody had made her see the mindhealer. But she had to talk to _someone_ about this who might actually be able to tell her how to fix it. It had to be fixable. It had to be.

She was still shaking with nerves when E’tariax called her in. She sat down. She stared at the floor.

“S-so… how is this supposed to go?” she asked.

"However you like, dear." E'tariax said gently. "Can I interest you in some tea? Sometimes a beverage helps. But mostly I'm just here to listen, judgement free. Sometimes talking out a problem with someone without any biases can help. What do _you_ want to talk about?"

“I don’t _want_ to talk about any of this. I just want to go back to before any of it happened. Ashes, at this point, I would go back to before I accepted the Search.” Vianne stared at the floor. After a moment, she said, “Tea would be lovely, thank you.”

E'tariax busied himself with pouring tea. It was already made, whether or not she chose to accept it. He passed the mug to her and settled back into his chair. "Unfortunately, we can't travel between times." He said mildly, "And I'm afraid I'm old and out of formation, as it were. Why don't you start at the beginning?"

Bit by bit, Vianne recounted the story yet again of how I'thralos had Impressed from the Stands, how she had gone to a party with every intention of joining him at the feast once he was done feeding the little beast, and then the next thing she knew, she had awakened in another man's bed without having remembered most of the intervening events.

It was clear from her tone just how much she resented the dragon who had stolen her husband.

“I told him what I did,” she said. “I had to. I couldn't let him hear it from someone else… But he had to go. He couldn't talk about it. The… The _dragon_ was too upset.”

"That is a lot of information to tell someone with a new bond, especially someone that wasn't prepared, nor expecting it." E'tariax acknowledged, "Dragonets, though, feed on the emotions of their rider. It's all new to them , and they don't know how to regulate it. That's why it's so dangerous to expose them to extreme emotions early in their lives."

“Yes, yes, I know all that.” Vianne sighed. “I convinced R’lor that the _extreme emotion_ of finding out about it from rumor and gossip would be worse than hearing it come from me. He had his dragon there to calm the thing down…”

E'tariax had long since learned not to make a face at the idea that a blue would be able to calm any headstrong dragon down. Old ideas were hard to kick. "So why don't we reframe our thinking here. What was making the dragonet upset?"

Ugh. Who cared about the stupid dragon? Vianne fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“He was upset that I'thralos was upset, why else?” What else did dragons have to feel? How much of a life of their own could they have?

"So instead of saying that the _dragon_ is too upset, perhaps we should say that _I'thralos_ was too upset." E'tariax tried again.

“Too upset _for the dragon_,” Vianne insisted. “No matter how upset_I’thralos_ gets, _he_ won’t just vanish into the dark forever.”

E'tariax did not correct her immediately this time. He folded his hands loosely in his lap atop his notebook. "Perhaps not," he agreed. "But to a dragonet, there isn't a separation between them. Some would argue that there never really _is_ a separation, but eventually they learn to manage the feelings through the bond. Right now, though, there is only everything all at once."

"You said you wanted to fix this. So let's look at what 'this' is. What do you believe is broken?"

“I hurt my husband!” Vianne’s voice caught in her throat, and she covered her face. “I didn't hurt the- the- the _fucking_ dragon! He didn't have any right to go into the stands, that's not where the Candidates were!”

“No,” he said, not unkindly. “It isn’t. He wasn’t supposed to Impress from the Stands. And you weren’t supposed to wake up in someone else’s bed. And none of this was supposed to happen the way it did. But it did. We can't undo it, and laying the blame entirely on the dragon isn't going to help you. We don't know why they sometimes Impress from the Stands, and he's not going to choose someone else. You keep trying to assign fault as though that will tell you how to fix it.”

“None of this would have happened if not for him!” Vianne insisted. “Why shouldn't I blame him? What makes you think it _can_ be fixed?”

"I don't know if it can." E'tariax said honestly. "But you're here, looking for help. People don't try to fix something they believe is truly beyond repair. Blame feels useful because it gives you an outlet for everything you're feeling, but it doesn't undo what's been done."

“Well, I certainly can't fix anything without finding the root cause of it all, now can I? Can’t stitch up a knife wound with the blade still inside.” Vianne folded her arms and huffed. This man was a dragonrider, too-- of course, he would side with the bloody, flaming dragon.

"From what you've told me, there isn't really a 'root' cause. There's not a singular thing that went wrong-- and yes, I know, the _dragon_ was the catalyst of a string of terrible events-- but let's break the entire thing down into its parts. First," E'tariax held up a finger, "His Impression is likely a shock for him, too. You are _both_ impacted by it. And second, _you_ chose to go to a party and drank enough to lose control of yourself. Third, neither of you have been able to talk about it. Which isn't anyone's fault, either, but another hurdle making everything else feel worse."

“So, then, what do I _do_?” Vianne demanded. He was a healer, was he not? When did the healing start?

E'tariax raised his eyebrows. "What do you think?"

“If I knew that, what business would I have asking you about it?” Vianne huffed.

"I can't provide a magic solution for you." E'tariax said. "That's not what mindhealing is. I'm here to listen, to try and offer new perspectives, to help you better understand what you're going through."

“All right, start offering, then!” Vianne scowled.

"You keep trying to come to a singular conclusion on how you might immediately receive forgiveness. That's not how it works. Relationships are complicated, and there's a lot that's happened. A lot of trust has been broken. If there's anything to be fixed, it won't be quick nor painless. Now, out of all the pieces I outlined earlier, which one do you think you're able to address? Can you force Vorlogoth to choose someone else? To apologize?"

“By the fire, if I could…” But she could not. Faranth knew that dragon would never apologize for anything. Let alone choose a more suitable rider. “I have tried to talk to him. I've tried. I don't need forgiveness right away. I just want to know it's not impossible. I just want to know how to fix it, which way to go. A map. A chart. Anything.”

"There isn't one. There's no easy, well-marked path towards healing. You have to accept that you cannot force the outcome. You cannot make him forgive you, can't make the situation resolve neatly. What you can do is decide how you show up now. Honestly, consistently, without trying to rush him past his feelings because they're painful for you. It's good that you tried to talk to him, and that you recognize that it'll take time. And in what ways can you keep trying, knowing it may take longer than you want, and may not end the way you hope?"

“I don’t want to give up,” said Vianne. “I don’t want it to end. But… he’s the one who gets to decide that now. I just…” She sighed. “I _need_ some hope. Just a glimmer.”

"It's not giving up to recognize that the outcome might not be what you want." E'tariax said. "But that didn't answer my question."

“I don't have any answers! How can I keep trying? How can I not?” Vianne demanded.

"I'm asking you to talk it out with me, Vianne." E'tariax himself was starting to get a little impatient, too. He set his stylus down. "Why don't we leave it here for now, and we can pick it up again in a few days? Think about what you can do to show up in your relationships, and we'll talk it over together."

“A-all right. I can… I can do that.” Maybe then Vianne would have even the slightest idea what to say to E’tariax, let alone to I’thralos.

But she was not holding her breath.

Last updated on the May 24th 2026

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Panacea